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m h S Q t h s 2 I DH IM R RM UG Bm SA .T LS u d 0 M o m N0. 586,515.Patented July 13, 1897.

WITNESSES (No-Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

L. S. BURRIDGE.

STAPLING MACHINE.

No. 586,515. Patented July 13, 1897.

wnNx-:ssis: 5 mvENTDR l im? ATTOR N EY Tw: nofws Firms co., vumqgmo..wAsnmsYou. D. c.

LEE S. BURRIDGE, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.,

PATENT OFFICE.

ASSIGNOR TO THE CENTURY MACHINE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

STAPLING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 586,515, dated July 13,1897'.

Application filed January 4, 1897. Serial No. 617,871. (No model.)

To all whom, t 77mg/ concern-:

Be it known that I, LEE S. BURRIDGE, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inStapling-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of stapling-machines in which thestaple is formed from a pin or piece of wire and is driven through thepaper or other material and clenched; and my objects are to provide asimple, durable, and effective structure, machine, or implement of thischaracter.

My improvements consist in certain features of construction andcombinations of devices, all as will be hereinafter more fullyexplained, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In carrying out my invention I place the pin, piece of wire, or othermaterial which is to form the staple into the mouth of an inclinedguideway or receptacle formed at the front side of the framework, andthe said pin or wire by its own weight slides downwardly and inwardlyover a fixed anvil attached to the framework and under a combined cutterand bender which slides in said framework. This cutting and bendingdevice is connected to a slide or plunger by means of an L-shaped slotand a cross-pin. A driver mounted to slide in ways in said bender (whichI shall hereinafter designate the i device for brevity and convenience)is also connected to the slide or plunger by means of a pin which worksalways in the horizontal portion of the L-shaped slot in the latter.Other slots are formed in the side plates of the framework, and pinsprojecting from the bender travel in said slots, which are so shaped asto give to the bender and the driver their proper movements, it beingnecessary for these various parts to first move downwardly in a rightline, then rearwardly and downwardly, and finally for the driver to movedown alone in a vertical direction, as will be presently seen. The slideor plunger moves always in the same vertical path, and during itsdescent the staple is formed, inserted, and clenched. A spring restoresthe slide or plunger and the bender, as well as the driver, to theirnormal positions.

The several parts involve other features'of detail construction, whichwill be more fully explained hereinafter.

The inserted pin or wire is first cut to size -by the shearing edges ofthe descending bender, which then immediately forces the blank down uponthe fixed angle. By continuing to descend the bender then operates toform the staple about said anvil by bending down the protruding endportions of the wire at right angles to the middle portion, which restsupon the top of the anvil. The slide or plunger still descending, thebender is then retreated or forced rearwardly and downwardly by reasonof the pins and the inclined portions of the slots in the side plates,and the staple is carried back therewith, owing to grooves or channelsin the bender, and far enough to enable the staple to entirely escapethe anvil and take a position in line with a clenching-recess formed inthe base plate. After this action the bender, still holding the staple,is forced down perpendicularly upon the paper or other material to bestapled and thereafter acts as a clamp to securely hold the materialupon the bedplate. The movement of the slide or plunger continuing afterthe bender has come to a bearing on the material, the driver is thencarried down independently in the ways in the bender, and acting on thestaple forces its legs through the material and at the same time theclenching-recess in the bed-plate operates to turn the legs of thestaple inwardly towardeach other and cause them to bear.

up against the under side of the material substantially parallel withthe crown or head of the staple, all as will now more fully appear fromthe description of the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is aside elevation of the machine or implement in its normal condition. Fig.2 is a front sectional elevation taken on the line e' z, Fig. 1. Fig. 3is a longitudinal section taken on the line y y, Fig. 2, but with themoving parts in the positions which they occupy at the completion of thestapling action-that is to say, with the staple driven and clenched.Fig. l: is a front sectional IOS view showing the position of the cutterand bender and driver at the completion of the formation of the stapleon the anvil. Fig. 5 is a central vertical section similar to Fig. 3,butshowing the parts in the positions they occupy j ust before theretraction of the bender, driver, and staple. Fig. G is a similar viewshowing the parts in the positions which they occupy immediately afterthe retraction of the bender, driver, and staple, but just previous tothe final downward clamping movement of the bender illustrated at Fig. 3and before the descent of the driver to effect the insertion of thestaple, this last-mentioned operation being also illustrated at Fig. 3.Fig. 7 is a cross-section taken on the line c fr, Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is aperspective view of the combined cutter and bender with its accompanyingdriver.

In the various views the same part will be found designated by the samenum eral of reference.

From the base-plate 1 at its rear side risesI a standard or bracket 2,forming part of the framework and supporting the remainder of theframework, which is Vcomprised of the parallel side plates or cheeks 3and front plates 4, preferably formed of a piece with the side plates.The latter are attached at nearA their rear edges to the standard bymeans of screws 5 5.

6 designates a plunger or slide of platelike form, but having adepending cylindrical guide-rod or shank 7, which slides at its lowerend in a bushing 8, inserted in the bed-plate and projecting upwardly asuitable distance above the top thereof.

The rearportion of the slide 6 is guided between a pair of lugs or ears9, projecting forwardly from the uppermost end of the standard. Theguide-rod or shank 7 is bifurcated at its upper portion, and the slide 6is iitted between the forks thereof and secured, preferably, by means ofrivets; but of course, if desired, these two portions may be madeintegral out of one and the same piece of metal. Fitted over the bushingat its lower end is a coiled spring 10, which surrounds the guiderod andbears at its upper end against the downwardly-entending rear portion orwing 11 of the slide (5. Said spring serves to hold the parts in theirraised normal position and also to return them thereto after depression.To enable the slide to be conveniently depressed by a blow, itsuppermost end is provided with a disk-like head 12, which maybe attachedby means of a rivet, as shown.

The front plate litis formed witha mouth or opening 13, extending acrossits full width, and each side or cheek plate 3 is formed with adownwardly and rearwardly extending slot 14: in open communication withsaid mouth or opening and forming therewith an inclined guideway for thereception and retention of the pin or wire previous to the cutting andbending operation requisite to form the staple.

In each cheek-plate 3 and at near the front edge thereof are formed twoslots, one arranged over the other and each comprising a straight orvertical portion 15, an inclined or oblique portion 16, and a second orfinal vertical portion 17. plate are arranged directly opposite thesimilar slots in the other. These slots receive the projecting ends of apair of pins 18, fitted or seated in holes formed horizontally in thebender 19.

Below the plane of the inclined slots which receive the pin or wire tobe formed into the staple is arranged the anvil 20, which is preferablysecured to the front plate 4 by means of rivets 2l. The upper surface ofthe anvil is flat, and about this portion the staple is formed. The rearupper corner of the anvil is beveled, as shown at 22, to facilitate theremoval of the finished staple.

The cutting and bending device 19 is preferably three-sided incross-section,being open at the front side. It is formed of a block ofsteel and comprises the side members 23, back member 24, and anextension or shank 25. The block is hollow longitudinally or has aninterior space formed by the several .or plunger, said slot consistingof a horizontal portion and a vertical portion communicating with therear end of the horizontal portion and extending upwardly. The driver isbifurcated at its upper end and is also provided with a cross-pin 31,which passes through the horizontal portion of the L- shaped slot. Bymeans of` these pins the bending device and the accompanying driver aresuspended from the slide or plunger. On the rear wall or member of thebending device are two lugs 32, to which are attached the lower ends ofa coiled spring 33, the opposite looped end of which bears against thelower edge of the slide. x

In the lower end of the driver is formed a groove or recess 34 for thecrown of the staple, and in the surface of the bed-plate or in a plug35,inserted therein, is formed a clenching-recess 36 for the legs of thestaple, said clenching-recess being located in a vertical plane in rearof the anvil.

As will be seen at Fig. 1, when the movable parts are in their normalpositions the slide or plunger is in an elevated position, thecross-pins 29 and 31 of the bender and driver, respectively, stand inthe horizontal portion of the L-shaped slot 30, the guide-pins 1S on thebender-stand at the upper ends of the vertical portions 15 of the slotsin the side plates, and the bender and driver are sus- The two slots inone cheek- ICO IIO

pended over the anvil and above the mouth of the inclined guideway whichreceives the pin or wire to be made into a staple. In the drawings Ihave shown an ordinary pin 37; but a plain piece of wire may of coursebe used in lieu thereof.

The pin or wire to be form ed into the staple is conveniently passedinto the mouth 13, whereupon it descends at once by gravity to the endsof the side slots 14, which terminate at a slight distance above the topof the anvil. The papers to be stapled are inserted in the space formedby the top of the bed-plate and the bottom of the side plates 3 andfront plate 4, as shown at Fig. 3, 38 designating three sheets of paper.The pin or wire and the papers having been placed in position,themachine or implementis ready for action. One blow on the head 12suffices to cut the pin or wire to staple size, to form the staple, tocarry the staple into line with the clenching-recess, to insert thestaple in the paper, and to clench the legs thereof, and all of theseoperations take place during the downward movement of the slide orplunger.

I shall now describe each action or operation separately.

rEhe cross-pin 29 of the bender occupying a place in the horizontalportion of the L- shaped slot 30, the bender is carried down at thebeginning of the descent of the slide or plunger until the bot-tom ofthe bender strikes the pin or wire resting in the path thereof. Theouter side edges 39 of the bender coperating with the inner edges of theinclined slots 14E act immediately to cut off the projecting ends of thepin or wire, which ends fall outwardly on the paper or on the desk ortable. At the same time the central portion of the pin or wire iscarried down by the bender onto the top of the anvil. The bendercontinuing to descend, it at once operates to bend or turn down thelateral unsupported portions of the pin or wire each to a verticalposition or at right angles to the top or supported portion of the wire,and thus forming or completing the staple, as illustrated at Fig. 4, thestaple being designated by the numeral 40. During this operation thebender embraces the upper portion of the anvil and at the same time thelegs of the staple are caused to enter the lower portions of the V-shaped grooves 27 in the bender, the lower end of the driver at thistime being at such an elevation as to permit the legs of the staple toenter said grooves. At the conclusion of this operation the pins 18 havetraveled to the lower ends of the straight portions 15 of the slots inthe cheek-plates, or are both at the positions illustrated at Fig, 5.Thus far the bender has descended in a line perpendicular to thebed-plate and the driver has come down with it without altering itsposition relatively thereto, but, as illustrated at Fig. 5, at the endof this operation the driver is forced down onto the crown or top of thestaple and the groove or depression therein Vhas embraced the same.

Thus the staple is now engaged by the grooves in the bender staple bythe bender and the driver, but particularly the former, the staple maynow be positively with drawn from the anvil and carried back to aposition for insertion in the papers in register with theclenching-recess.

The withdrawal of the staple from the anvil is accomplished by aretreating or backward and downward movement of the bender, which isperformed by the action of the pins 18 18 on the inclined portions 16 ofvthe slots in the cheek-plates, such inclined portions acting as cams orwedges to force the bender rearwardly during its continued descent. Assoon as the pins 18 are acted upon by the inclined walls 16, the benderand with it the driver are forced to move rearwardly or away from theanvil, and in this movement the staple accompanies them. During theretraction of the bender and driver under the action of the pins 18 andinclines 16 the crosspins 29 and 31 travel rearwardly in the hori-Zontal portion of the L-shaped slot in the slide 6 until the parts arebrought to the positions represented at Fig. 6, where it will be seenthat the pins 18 are now at the Lipper ends of the vertical portion 17of the slots in the y cheek-plates, and the cross-pin 29 is at the lowerend of the vertical portion of the L- shaped slot 30, the cross-pin 3lbeing still in the horizontal portion of said slot and at about themiddle thereof.

The parts are now in position to enable the stapleto bedriven throughthe papers and to be simultaneously clenched, but just prior to thedriving of the staple the bender is brought down upon the Vpaper toclamp it securely upon the bed-plate, as shown at Fig. 3, yet thismovement takes place before any independent movement of the driver, andhence before the driver has arrived at the position shown at Fig. 3. Inother words, the bottom of the bender takes a bearing upon the pa-l persbefore the relationship existing between the driver and the bender hasbeen changed from that shown at Fig. 6 to that shown at Fig. 3.

When the parts have got into the position shown at Fig. 6, the continueddescent of the slide or plunger causes both the bender and the driver todescend therewith until the foot of the bender which projects somedistance beyond that of the driver comes to a bearing on the paper,where upon meetingthis resistance to its further movement the bender isarrested, but the driver now continues to descend independently of thebender sliding in the V-shaped grooves or ways therein, and in itsdescent forcing or driving the staple-legs through the paper and intothe clenching-recess, by which they 'are upturned against the under sideof the paper, asV shown at Fig. 3.

During the movement of the bender from the IOO IIO

position shown at Fig. 3 to that shown at Fig. 6 the pins 18 travel inthe lower vertical portion 17 of the slots in the cheek-plates, andhence the bender is caused to move down perpendicularly to the paper, sothat its foot will be planted squarely thereupon.

During the final independent descent of the driver the vertical portionof the L-shaped slot travels down about the cross-pin 29,which is atthis time stationary, and the bottom edge of the slide 6 moves downthrough the slot 2S in the shankof the bender. Immediately the benderhas come to a bearing on the paper and the driver has started downindependently the slide 6, acting on the ,loop of the spring 83, tendsto wind or tighten the coils of the spring 33 and cause said spring toeX- ert a downward force upon the bender to hold it firmly in placeduring the descent of the driver and slide 6 independently thereof.

On the completion of the stapling operation the coil-sprin g 10 operatesto restore the slide to its normal position, and the inclined portions16 of the slots in the cheek-plates, together with the pins 1S, operateto independently restore the driver and bender to their normalpositions.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the operations of forming thestaple, carrying it to a driving position, clamping the paper, anddriving and clenching the staple all successively take place rapidlyduring the descent of the slide or plunger 6 under a single blow orforce upon the head 12 thereof.

Various changes in detail, construction, and arrangement may be madewithout departing from the features of m'y invention as embodied in thesubjoined claims.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a stapling-machine, the combination of a vertical slide orplunger, a bender suspended therefrom, a stationary anvil in the path ofdescent of the bender, means for retreating said bender after theformation of the staple about said anvil, a driver, and a paper-supportbeneath said anvil.

2. In a stapling-machine, the combination of a bed-plate, a framework, astationary anvil supported by said framework above the bed-plate, aslide or plunger guided in said framework, and a bender looselysuspended from said slide or plunger and also independcntly guided insaid framework.

3. In a stapling-machine, the combination of a slide or plunger, astationary anvil, a bender carried by said slide or plunger and adaptedto cut the staple material to staple size and to form the staple aboutsaid anvil,

means for retreating said bender during the continued descent of theslide or plunger and causing said benderto remove the staple from theanvil and take it to a position in line with a clenching device, meansfor bringing said bender down upon the material to be stapled during afurther descent of said slide or plunger, and a driver also connected tosaid slide or plunger and adapted to be moved independently during thenal descent thereof and to force the legs of the staple through thematerial and,with the clenchin g device, cause them to be clenched orupturned on the under side of said material.

4. In a stapling-machine, the combination of a bed-plate having aclenching device, a framework, a slide or plunger adapted to slidetherein, a stationary anvil supported by said framework above thebed-plate, a bender suspended from said slide or plunger, a driver alsosuspended from said slide or plunger and movable independently in saidbender, and" -means for retreating said bender and driver after theformation of the staple, but before the completion of the descent of theslide or plunger, and means whereby, during the latter portion of thedescent of the slide or plunger, the bender carrying the staple isfirstA brought down upon thematerial to be stapled and then, during thefinal portion of the descending movement of the slide or plunger, thedriver is forced down independently and causes the legs of the staple tobe driven through the material.

5. In a stapling-machine, the combination of a bed-plate having aclenching device, a framework having a stationary anvil andguiding-slots, a spring-pressed slide or plun-V ger having an L-shapedslot, a bendersuspended from said L-shaped slot and having guiding-pinsadapted tothe guiding-slots in the framework, and a driver alsosuspendedfrom said L-shaped slot.

6. In a stapling-machine, the combination of a bed-plate having aclenching device, a standard, a pair of side or cheek plates havingguiding-slots, a frontplate having an anvil and an inclined guideway forthe wire or other material, a spring-pressed plungercomprising aplate-like portion, a rod or shank,' and a head, and having in saidplate-like portion an L-shaped slot, a bender suspended from said slotand having a spring and also guiding-pins adapted to the guiding-slotsin said cheek-plates, and a driver also suspended' from said L-shapedslot and adapted to slide independently in said bender.

7. In a stapling-machine, the combination of a bed-plate having aclenching device, a standard, a pair of cheek-plates terminating abovesaid bed-plate and provided with guiding-slots comprising the verticalportions 15 and 17 and the intermediate inclined portion 16, the frontplate having an anvil and a mouth or opening above said anvil, inclinedslots in the cheek-plates communicating with said mouth or opening, aslide or plunger having an L-shaped slot, a bender suspended from saidslot, a driver also suspended from said slot and adapted to slideindependently in said bender, a spring connected to said bender and tosaid slide or plunger, and a returning-spring for said slide or plunger.

S. 4In a stapling-machine, the combination with an anvil and a bender,of a front plate IDO los

IIO

having a mouth or opening above said anvil adapted to receive andsupport the wire or other substance to be cut and formed into a staple.

9. In a stapling-machine, the combination of a bender,a front platehaving an anvil attached thereto at its lower end and having a mouthabove said anvil, and side plates having slots communicating with saidmouth.

l0. In a stapling-maehine, the combination with an anvil. and a bender,of an openmouthed inclined receptacle arranged over said anvil for theintroduction and support of the material to be formed into a staple.

ll. In a stapling-machine, the combination of a bed-plate, a standard,two side plates having each a pair of guiding-slots, one over the other,and consisting each of the vertical portions l and 17 and theintermediate inclined portion 16, the front plate supporting the fixedanvil, the wire-receptacle above said anvil, a slide or plunger, abender loosely carried therebyT so that it may be' retreated, andguiding-pins on said bender adapted to the two pairs -of slots in saidcheek-plates.

12. In a stapling-machine, the combination of a slide or plunger, abender suspended therefrom at its upper end and adapted to be retreatedor moved transversely of the path of movement of said slide or plunger,and means for retreating said bender during the depression of said slideor plunger, after the formation of the staple.

13. In a stapling-machine, the combination of a slide or plunger, abender supported therefrom at its upper end and adapted to be retreatedor moved transversely of the path of movement of said slide or plunger,proj ecting pins on said bender, and inclined slots or walls forretreating` said bender during the descent of said slide or plunger,after the formation of the staple.

14. In a stapling-machine, the combination of a slide or plunger havingan L-shaped slot, a bender suspended from said slot and provided withlaterally-projecting pins, a xed anvil, and side plates having`guiding-slots comprising the vertical parallel portions and 17 and thelinclined portions 16 to coperate with said laterally-projecting pins inthe bender.

l5. In a stapling-machine, the combination of an anvil, a bender havinglongitudinal grooves adapted to receive the legs` of the formed staple,a driver adapted to reciprocate in said grooves and formed at its endwith a transverse recess adapted to receive the crown of the staple,means for retreating said bender and driver, means for forcing thebender down onto the material in advance of the driver, and means forthen depressing the driver and forcing the staple-legs through thematerial and clenching the same.

16. In a stapling-machine, the combination of a bed-plate having aclenching device, an anvil arranged above said bed-plate, a slide orplunger, a bender and a driver suspended therefrom, means forsimultaneously retreating the bender and the driver, and means wherebythe said slide or plunger is thereafter enabled to first cause thebender to clamp the material and then cause the driver to force the legsof the staple through the material and clench the same.

17. In a stapling-machine in which the staple is formed,retreated,inserted and clenched at one blow, the combination of a slide or plungerwhich receives the blow, a bender and a driver suspended therefrom,ananvil, means for retreating the bender and the driver, and a paper bedor support below the anvil and having a clenching device.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, this 31st day of December, A. D. 1896.

LEE S. BURRIDGE.

Vitnesses:

CORNELIUS P. MGLAUGHLIN, K. V. DoNovAN.

